Dorian held up his hand and smiled at me. “That’s in the past. All that matters now is our future.”
Our future?
10
Turning Point (Dorian)
Just having her here with me made every day better.
It’d been a long fucking time since I’d felt this way about a woman, if ever. I couldn’t get enough of her smile, her body, and her love. Now that she’d made the decision to stay with me, I vowed nothing would ever get in the way of us being together again.
A few days passed. She’d started staying in my room. In spite of everything that happened, the way things went down, it looked to me like she’d turned a corner.
There was only one thing I still had to do, and it was something I’d forgotten about after the first night. She’d just finished showering when I walked into the bathroom, carrying all of her belongings from the night we picked her up.
It was all there - her smashed phone, the keys to her apartment, and her purse.
“I’ve got something for you,” I said, approaching her.
With her hair wrapped in a towel and another covering her midsection, Tempest stood there, tiny droplets of water clinging to her exposed shoulders.
Looking at her, I licked my lips. “Fuck me… I’m about to get you dirty all over again.”
Tempest smiled wide. “Is that a promise?”
And it would’ve been, if not for a bunch of work bullshit I had to take care of that day. It’s funny – you’d think having all the money in the world would give you time, but somehow, there never seemed to be enough.
Extending the items to her, I replied, “You bet your ass.”
Tempest frowned, taking everything from me and changing the subject.
“My stuff? Where was it?”
“I kept it safe. Everything is there.”
I paused for a second, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a new cell phone.
“I also got this for you. The number is the same but your sim card got smashed to hell. There was nothing that could be done about it, so you’ll have to start from scratch with all that stuff.”
Tempest took the phone from me.
“Thank you,” she began, smiling. “You really didn’t have to do all this. I appreciate it though.”
I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s impossible to survive without a phone these days.”
While I spoke, she rummaged through her purse.
“Um…” she began, looking at me. “Is this all there was?”
I shook my head. “No.”
I’d have to be an idiot not to realize what she was looking for inside of her bag. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled it out and held it in front of me.
“I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about seeing it. The doctor had to get it off your finger when we brought you to the infirmary.”
I passed the ring to her.
She took it from me, not saying anything but thanking me with her eyes. She stared at it, turning it from side to side.
“I, um, had it appraised for you.”
She stopped what she was doing and looked at me. Although I didn’t come right out and say it, it surprised me the fucking thing was real.
“Okay, thank you for letting me know.”
I heard sadness creep into her tone. I was surprised she wasn’t asking me the most logical question of all. “Don’t you want to know how much it’s worth?”
Tempest leaned against the vanity. Still holding the ring, she looked up at me with a listless expression in her eyes. I couldn’t tell whether she wanted to know or not, but it was hers, so I didn’t want to keep the information from her.
“It’s worth almost one hundred thousand dollars.”
I watched for any reaction from her, but none came. She held eye contact with me and then looked at the ring once again. Hoping to distract her, maybe brighten her mood, I decided to change subjects.
“Hey, listen -- today is the day. I’m going to be flying out of town to deliver the case. You are welcome to come with me if you want. It’s not necessary though.”
She looked at me again and smiled. “No, I think I’ll just stay here.”
I walked closer to her. “All right then. I’ll be back in time for dinner. That reminds me, you will need to be ready to go tonight by eight o’clock. I’ve got a big surprise in store for you.”
That last little bit seemed to lighten her spirits.
“A surprise? What is it?”
I leaned into her, sliding my hand around her hip. After kissing her on the cheek, I pulled away. “Well, it won’t be much of a surprise if I tell you. Will it?”
“No, I guess not.”
Reaching for the knot in my tie, I stood tall. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t forget, eight o’clock.”
I turned to walk away. Before I took a second step, she spoke. “I was doing fine before the ring came back into my life.”
Stopping in place, I turned and looked at her. “What are you saying?”
She held the ring up, extending it towards me. “I’ll be even better without it in my life now.”
Everything about the expression on her face seemed genuine. I walked back to her. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes. I don’t care what you do with it. It doesn’t mean anything to me.”
She gestured for me to take it from her. I opened my hand, and she dropped it into my palm.
“All right then,” I said, closing my fingers around it and slipping the ring back inside of my pocket. “I’ll make sure the cash equivalent of the ring finds its way to a worthy charity.”
A melancholy smile spread across her lips. “I like the sound of that.”
11
Family Matters (Tempest)
Dorian hadn’t been gone long when my new cell phone started to vibrate.
I was still trying to get over the shock of seeing the engagement ring again. I hadn’t expected it. I mean, I hadn’t forgotten about it, but I hadn’t thought to ask about it either. Maybe I didn’t want to know. I wasn’t sure.
Reaching for my phone, I looked at the display. I didn’t recognize the number, but then again, all of my numbers got trashed. I decided to answer it anyway. It was my father calling.
“Dad?” I said, pressing the phone into my ear while covering my other ear. I could barely hear him. “Where are you?”
“Temp…” he replied, his voice hardly louder than a whisper. “Can you hear me?”
Something was definitely off. Not only did I have trouble hearing him but the normal recording that played, stating the call came from a correctional facility didn’t interrupt us as usual.
“No, not really. Why are you whispering?”
“I can’t talk much louder than this. I’ve got a burner. That’s all you need to know.”
The behavior was super out of character for him. The entire time he’d been locked up, my dad always played it straight, not wanting to do any more time than he had to. He’d always tried so hard to keep himself out of trouble and maintain a low profile that whatever was on his mind had to be important.